[ghporter]

I have tried using the latest version of Skype for Mac (version 8.93) as well as their web interface through Chrome, and I haven't been able to see the other end's screen at all.

I'm trying to get training from someone on a web-based application, and I couldn't see anything from them. I adjusted all the "privacy and security" settings I could find that would let both the app and Chrome share MY screen, but I couldn't see anything about accepting a distant end's screen sharing.

I had my wife connect with me with her M1 MBA, and still no joy.

I'm running Big Sur on my MBP, and my wife's MBA is running either Big Sur or Monterey. She successfully Skypes - with video, but hasn't tried screen sharing - with her family members regularly using her MBA.

I do not have the option to "suggest" a different video conference app. So what settings do I need to adjust to let me see someone else's shared screen?

[andi*pandi]

I have not used skype in years. I think microsoft bought it and ruined it.

[reader50]

Silly question, but have you perused the M$ FAQ about screen sharing?

I don't have any Skype contacts online for testing - they moved on to Zoom. I did check a few YouTube videos about Skype screen sharing on Mac, but they were all about sharing your screen. Not receiving a shared screen. It seems the shared screen will simply appear, without needing an icon to be pressed.

Is it possible you originally (years ago) tried Skype Screen Sharing on a Mac with multiple monitors? ie - could the shared screen be appearing in a now-offscreen location? If so, try opening Displays prefpane, and clicking on the Gather Windows button on bottom right. This is how you fish windows into view, from a fake (or broken) 2nd monitor.

[ghporter]

Everything I can find online, both from MS and other sources, talks about “I can’t share my screen.” Nothing about what could keep me from seeing someone else’s screen. LOTS of helpful stuff, from privacy settings (which I have already done) to configuration stuff and more - mostly aimed at Windows machines. But not a word about why “I can’t see a shared screen in a call.”

I wound up testing with my iMac running Mojave. I just installed Skype and shared my Windows laptop’s screen in a Skype call. It worked fine from the start, without ANY tweaking or fuss.

I am going to do a couple of things. First, I’m going to uninstall Skype from the MBP, restart the MBP, then reinstall Skype. If that makes it work, fine. If not, also fine, but I’m done trying to figure out why the MBP won’t see shared screens.

I’ve restarted my Linux machine, because Chromium couldn’t get DNS to resolve addresses (using Google’s DNS servers), but that didn’t seem to fix the issue. So the second thing I’m going to do is a cold restart of my whole home network. The modem, Airport, switch, everything. I don’t think this was a problem that kept the MBP from doing what I wanted, but it won’t hurt. A week ago we had a several hour power outage, and I don’t think the UPS my network stuff is on did a great job, so a full power down then starting one device at a time should get the whole network working better.

[ghporter]

I didn’t get to the part where I restarted the network stuff. I’ll do that later, maybe tomorrow.

I dumped the Skype app and shut down the MBP. After a while, I restarted it, re-downloaded the Skype DMG, then reinstalled it. It just plain worked after that, without messing with any settings. Just like with the iMac.

I had deleted and reinstalled the app before, but without a restart, and from the same DMG I’d downloaded earlier. So I don’t know if it was a corrupt file, the machine needed to be restarted, both, or “other.” But I don’t care. It’s working now.